Ier council of Nicée

Oecumenical

That means that it joined together all the Churches . Indeed, each patriarchate was independent and had its clean magistère so that one excommunicated in a patriarchate could make raise its Excommunication in the close patriarchate (what did not fail to be done).

Magistère

The Roman Emperor Constantin I {{er}} convenes the council. He indeed has just joined together the Roman Empire after having overcome Licinius with Andrinople, in September 324. Going in the East, it quickly notes the very great number of the dissensions within the Christianisme. In order to restore religious peace and to build the unit of the Church, and also to undoubtedly arrive to its ends politically, it decides to join together a Concile. This one brings together representatives of almost all the tendencies of the Christianisme, shortly after the end of persecutions (those launched by Dioclétien last until in 313, and certain bishops still carry the traces of inflicted tortures on this occasion).

After several months during which the bishop S did not manage to agree on a deciding text of the nature of the Trinité, the emperor threatens the fourteen recalcitrant ones. Three remain faithful to their designs, whose Arius, and is excommunicated.

However, the arianism was not the first heresy to deserve excommunication. It followed the marcionism, the judeo-nazareism and the gnosticism.

Guns of the Council

the council recognizes the preeminence of the seat of Alexandria on all the Churches of Egypt and Libya and announces that there exists a similar habit in connection with Rome and of Antioche, without specifying the limits of the zones of influence of these two seats (undoubtedly Italy for Rome, the diocese of the East for Antioche). It is the origin of the patriarchates there.
the council creates the concept of confession of faith
the council extends the validity of excommunication by creating the Anathème. Previously excommunication was valid only in the diocese which had pronounced it and it was even possible to make raise an excommunication pronounced in the diocese of Alexandria by the bishop of Antioche.

In spite of the commitment not to raise the excommunication fulminated by the colleagues, it happened that bishops exceeded this convention. Arius and Athanase profited in turn from this trangression of the guns of the council.

Creed of Nicée

The confession of faith promulgated with the Council of Nicée is that known as Confession of Athanase . It will evolve/move during the christologic councils until becoming the “Symbole of Nicée - Constantinople” or “ Credo ” with the council of Constantinople 381 which promulgates the dogma of the double nature:

(God) the Son is consubstantial to the Father.

The principle of the confession of faith is simple: to be Christian, it is necessary to adhere to the confession of faith. Reciprocal: whoever does not adhere to the confession of faith is not Christian; it is thus, according to the mood of the prince:

hétérodoxe if one hopes to reconquer it,
heretic and in this case, it is compared to the pagan ones.

Controversies trinitaires

A controversy which has occurred during this Council became celebrates, and remained in the expression “not to vary from a iota”. The nicéens supported the thesis which the Son was of the same substance (ὁμοουσιος - homoousios ) that the Father, while them (semi) ariens (which were excommunicated) supported that which the Son was of substance similar (ὁμοιουσιος - homoiousios ) to the Father. The two terms were characterized only by one small Iota.

The decisions taken with the Council do not reflect fine with the controversies trinitaires as the foundation of the “Churches of the two councils shows it” (Assyrian) and of the “Churches of the Three Councils” (monophysites: Armenian, Copte, Syrian woman) which will continue their development in Arménie, in Egypt, in Syria, Ethiopia and India of the South.

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